
ETERNAL 
CONFLICT 



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FREDERIC 

ARNOLD 

KUMMER 




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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



THE ETERNAL CONFLICT 



ETERNAL 
CONFLICT 




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COPYRIGHT 1907 

BY FREDERIC ARNOLD KUMMER 

NEW YORK CITY 



PUBLISHED BY 

A. W. ERICKSON. 127 DUANE ST.. NEW YORK 



5 



To 



New York 

January First 

1907 



THE ETERNAL CONFLICT. 

In Thy circling arms of green 
On Thy breasts, O sullen Queen, 
Sinuous and serpentine 
Lie the Hills. Unshaken They, 
Though Thou wastest Them away, 
All are They Thou canst not be, 
Treacherous and cruel Sea, 
Grim they stand, defying Thee, 
Steadfast to Eternity. 

In Thy arms I He, O Sea, 
Hating Thee and Loving Thee, 
Wanton jade in green and blue. 
Treacherous in every hue. 
Back I push Thee from my shore 
Evermore and evermore; 
Yet God wedded Thee and me. 
Hold me closer — closer. Sea, 
I shall die in loving Thee. 



THE LOSER WINS. 

The loser wins; the down-turned thumb, 

The world forever shows, 
Yet he who, smiling, breaks the sword, 

A greater victory knows. 

The fight is cruel, bloody, long, 

Yelp, curs, and take your toll. 
The loser wins, who keeps through all 

An undefiled soul. 



10 



THE HYMN OF THE ELECT. 

We thank Thee, Lord, oh God of Hosts, 

Loud may our praises sound ; 
In every ill Thou sendest us 

A blessing may be found. 

We thank Thee, Lord, for many fools 

If thus a few be wise; 
If all the world had equal wit, 

How could we hope to rise? 

We thank Thee, Lord, for many poor, 

If thus some rich may be ; 
For thus may we assist them with 

Our blessed charity. 

We thank Thee, Lord, that sinners are 

As sands upon a beach ; 
For thus may we, a chosen band. 

Thy Gospel to them teach. 

In other words, we thank Thee, Lord, 

That they are not as we', 
For only that they thus are not 

Enables us to be. 



HEREDITY. 

I saw a small and clumsy boat 

Strained on by ceaseless toil and pain, 
Of one who failed and failed and failed, 

Yet strove and strove again. 

I saw a canvas-clouded ship, 
With lofty spars, sail swiftly by; 

I heard the toiler in the boat 
Ask piteously — ^Why? 



LIFE. 

I saw a ship upon a mighty sea; 
"Whence comest thou," I hailed ; they answered me, 
"The port from which we sailed we do not know; 
"We left it far behind us, long ago." 

Again I hailed, "Where goest thou?" I cried; 

The hoary captain wearily replied, 

"We sail ahead, but why, we cannot say, 

"And shall, till ship and sea have passed away/' 



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FAITH. 

The living, breathing, conscious "I" 
Says to itself, I cannot die. 
My soul, so Godlike, shall, afar. 
Win to the outermost faint star 
Of this vast universe, and then 
My conscious self shall live again. 
This wonderful, unending "ME" 
That I, and I alone, can see 
Round which the universe syblime 
Swings to the beat of endless time. 



KNOWLEDGE. 

Thou maggot, drest in human form, 

Thou atom, driven by a storm 

So vast, unthinkable, divine, 

Its faintest concept is not thine, 

Why waste thy trifling span of time 

In chattering of faith sublime, 

In where thou wilt or wilt not go? 

Ask thyself this — what dost thou know ? 



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FRIENDSHIP. 

Through the gentle valley of peace 

The river of friendship flows, 

A quiet stream with an even tide, 

Closely folded on either side 

By the loving arms of the valley wide, 

As on to the sea it goes. 

The sky itself is not so blue 

As the silent depths of this stream so true. 



LOVE. 

Through the peaks of the Infinite 
There rushes the river of love, 
A roaring torrent of joy and pain, 
Plunging to Hell in its course insane, 
Then rising in splendor to Heaven again, 
Seeking the glory above. 
Which of the two will fulfil our dream — 
The torrent wild or the quiet stream? 



15 



EASTER. 

Ten thousand sweet-voiced church bells ring, 
Ten thousand surpliced choirs sing; 
All men to Him their burdens bring, 
I stand with mine apart 

The burden He could take away, 
Through all the weary days I pray, 
That He may let forever stay 
Deep buried in my heart. 

Dear Burden, I shall hold you fast 
Through all the future, as the past, 
I should a pauper be at last, 
If you and I should part. 



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THANKSGIVING. 

Great God of Earth and Field and Sky, 

Of Rock and Sand and Sea, 
I thank Thee for the priceless gift 
Thou givest me. 

Yet, God, I could have thanked Thee more 
Hadst Thou but given it before. 

In all Thy realms of miderworld. 

In all Thy stars above, 
The greatest thing Thou hast is mine — 
A woman's love. 

Yet, God, why give a beggar meat 
And then forbid that he should eat? 

Though every law of God and man 
Our happiness defer. 

Yet more than all I thank Thee, that 
Thou gavest Her. 
Dear God, who made me breathe and live, 
Wilt Thou refuse the thanks I give? 



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JUDGMENT. 

Before God came three Souls. 

To the first, God said : — 

''Man, thou hast sinned beyond all forgiveness, 

Eternal suffering is thine. 

Go!" 

To the second, God said: — 

^'Woman, though thou thinkest thou has done but little 

evil, 
Yet, for the good thou hast not done 
Thou, too, must eternally suffer. 
Go ! therefore, with the man thou hast not nurtured 
And suffer with him/' 
To the third, God said : — 
"Woman, through thy love for this man 
Thou hast suffered enough. 
Go in peace — thy punishment is over.*' 
But the third, 

Seeing the two passing, hand in hand, 
Through the gates of Hell, 
Fell upon her knees, and wept bitterly, saying, 
"Ah, God! God! 
My punishment has only just begun," 



i8 



ASHORE. 

I'm sick o' the rottin smell o' the shore, 

Fm sick o' the love of a bloomin' whore, 

And Fm sick to my bones 

O' the pavin' stones, 

An' of every damn thing I see. 

An' I longs for a breath o' the clean salt air, 

An' I longs for the decks when my feet is bare, 

An' I longs for a gale, 

An' a shortenin' sail, 

Aw, Gawd, how I longs for the sea ! 



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PASSION. 

Those who guide their passions right, 
With a rein that's always tight, 
Drive a simple one-horse shay 
That could never run away. 

Passion is a whirlwind blast, 

Wild and furious to the last; 

Those who have the strength to guide it 

Are the ones who never ride it. 



20 



OPPORTUNITY. 

From infinite Future to infinite Past 

The sands in the hour glass run, 
Yet however long thy life may last, 
Of a myriad moments — eternity vast — 
Thou canst grasp but a single one. 



21 



IN A COPY OF TENNYSON. 

With Tennyson and you, I sing 
The Idylls of the old world King 
Who still maintains his knightly sway 
O'er every human heart to-day. 

In working times, these things may seem 
Part of a far-off, idle dream; 
Yet it may do us good to look 
Sometimes within this little book. 



22 



BUTTERFLIES. 

Scattered rose leaves, blowing skyward 

Ere their sweetness dies, 

Gathering life from out the sunshine, 

Turn to butterflies. 

White and yellow in the clover 

Dotting all the green fields over. 



^3 



THE TIDES OF LIFE. 

In mists of night the sun has set, 

The bare rocks face the driving rain, 
The tide is out — with break of day 
It will return again. 

In mists of night my love has gone, 
The ebbing tide brings bitter pain, 

The tides of life are in God's hands, 
They will return again. 



24 



A DREAM. 

We stood, you and I, on a fair, smooth beach, 

On a beach of golden sand, 
Whence the blue sea spread to a far-off shore, 

To the shore of the Promised Land. 
From the beach there quivered a shining path 

Through the sea, like a silver rod, 
And far beyond, at the pathway's end. 

Flamed the Light of the Throne of God. 

We had thought, you and I, with our love, to fare 

Through the pathway, straight to the Throne, 
But the golden day in a flash passed away. 

And we felt that we were alone. 
With a darkening storm the sea was swept. 

And naught of the path was there; 
The Golden Light of the Throne was gone, 

The stones of the beach were bare. 

Yet we knew we must breast it together, love, 

Through the storm and the stress of Life, 
Shoulder to shoulder, you and I, 

Through that ocean of Pain and Strife. 
Together, hands clasped, we shall find our way 

As we could not find it alone. 
Till the pure in heart shall come again 

To the footsteps of the Throne. 



25 



THE SONG OF HASSAN. 

As the countless stars of the night are my thoughts 

of Thee — 
Oh Rose of a Thousand Perfumes, 
As the shadows of the palms go forth at the setting 

of the sun — 
So goes forth my love unto Thee. 

The Lovers sit upon the house tops and play upon the 

lute— 
I gather my robe about my heart, lest they hear its 

song. 
I go forth into desert places, where no man dwelleth— 
And there, Oh Allah, I cry unto Thee. 

The palm tree whispers to the night wind, Where art 

Thou? 
And she answers softly, I am here. 
The bul-bul calls unto its mate, and she comes — 
The voice of the tiger sounds from among the rushes— 
And lo ! — his mate is beside him, 
While I, Oh Allah, am alone. 

How long, then, must I call unto Thee — 

Thou who knowest that the soul cannot always endure? 

Soon must I, too, go forth to seek my mate — 

She, the pure, the strong. 

She, the Pearl of a thousand hues — 

That Thou, Oh Allah, has made for me. 



26 



Soon shall I look for the last time upon the land of 

my fathers, 
Leaving all that has been to no longer be — 
Since what is written must surely come to pass. 
For when I call. Oh Allah, will she not come to me^ — 
Even as the tiger to its mate? 
Then shall we go forth together under the stars — 
Forsaking the v/ays of men. 

Then will there be no longer what was — nor that which 

shall be. 
But only that w^hich is. 

Hear me, Oh Allah, for the time draws nigh, 
The sands in the glass run slowly, 
The wings of the hours are of stone. 
Yet the days of youth pass swiftly. 
Each day that goes down into the west 
Comes not back again. 
Yet surely the time draws nigh. 
Then shall I lift up my heart, 
Oh God of my Fathers, 
And shout for joy — 
For as the river to the sea, 
As the sun unto the west, 
As the soul to Paradise, 
So shall I go to Her. 
Selah! 



27 



AT LAST. 

I hear a ceaseless talk of Life Eternal, 

Of joy divine, and suffering infernal, 

Of mighty hopes — of happiness, relying 

Upon a glorious dream of Fame, undying, 

Of gold and purple sham — of fortune's blessing, 

Of toiling, scheming, grasping and possessing. 

My soul responds no longer to that call; 

At last within my arms I hold my all. 

Dear love, so long we two have been apart, 

Kiss me again, my dearest, dearest heart. 



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VIAR 1 190/ 



